What Does it Mean When a Lease Requires the Tenant to Perform "Routine Maintenance?"

The Real Estate editors at the Chicago Tribune run the numbers:

[M]ost states do not allow landlords to contract away their duty to maintain a fit and habitable rental. Of those that do, the statutes limit the practice to single-family homes, and typically require that the duties be spelled out in writing and that the arrangement be a fair bargain (in other words, the tenant must be paid for the labor or get a good deal on rent).

Steve Clowney